Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Let me go on record that I despise far-out, fantasy-filled NBA acquisition rumors , but the idea of recently-waived point guard, Damian Lillard, coming to Boston is intriguing. The 6'2", 9-time All-Star was waived by the Bucks , who by the way, will be paying for the remaining seasons on his contract. The chance of that happening is admittedly slim since Lillard has close ties to the west coast, and may favor landing on a team closer to home. Damian is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season due to a torn Achilles suffered in this year's playoffs. He averaged 25.1 points, 4.3 boards, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals during the 2024-25 season in Milwaukee. The idea of him coming off the bench as a volume scorer and able assist guy excites me. He could be returning to the court at about the same time as Jayson Tatum , and he can sign with Boston for very-low money - with Celtics rival Milwaukee paying the bulk of his salary. Lillard may not have the size and defensive in...

 Don't look now, but Doc Rivers is once again in turbulent waters . His Milwaukee Bucks are mired in the standings with a 2-8 record and have lost twice to the Boston Celtics , the team he deserted in 2013 because he did not want to be part of a rebuild. His two stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damien Lillard, are having fine seasons, but the rest of his cast just can't get the job done. In 2020, Doc left his position with the Clippers - and in 2023, he was fired as coach of the 76'ers. But the veteran coach took over the reins of the Bucks in January of 2024 after Milwaukee fired Adrian Griffin . Such is the lot of the modern NBA coach. So what happens now in Milwaukee? Trading The Greek Freak and tanking won't help due to a paucity of future first-round picks. Ditto for trading Lillard. The Milwaukee Bucks have little in the way of tradeable players or draft picks, so almost realistic any trade scenario would not improve their immediate future . So, back to Doc. Ri...

  Payton Pritchard was asked about the fan support from so many Celtics faithful. His response was right on. This is a cool answer from Payton Pritchard on the fan support he receives: “I feel like it comes because I look like an ordinary person. I feel like I give hope to everybody that is the same size as me… With hard work you can make it a long way, & I’m a prime example of that.” pic.twitter.com/McTYJWikgt — Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) October 29, 2024 On the streets of Boston, you would not pick out this guy in a crowd. "Only" 6'1" in height - short, no-fuss haircut - no visible tattoos - no outrageous outfits. Just an "ordinary person". Even on the basketball court, his movements don't suggest a high-level athlete with quickness and leaping ability. But then like last night versus the Bucks, Pritchard digs deep into his work ethic and wish (need?) to excel and explodes for major points (28 last night), dazzling accuracy (10-of-14 FG, 8-of...

 The Celtics 104-91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks has little meaning in the scheme of things, but two  items clearly stand out. The first, of course, is the calf injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo . The extent of the injury remains unknown, but it could have ramifications for the upcoming playoffs . Milwaukee's post-season without The Freak, even for a few games, would not sit well for Doc Rivers or his team. Number-2 items from last night has to be the fact that only two free throws were taken the entire game , and those two just happened to be taken by Giannis. So Boston had zero free throws taken , and Milwaukee committed only four fouls the whole game. How does than stand up in NBAS history ( per CNN's Matias Grez )? "During the team’s 104-91 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to shoot zero free throws in a game. To make matters even more bizarre, the Bucks only shot two, meaning the two teams set a new record for t...

 We already know that the Spurs Victor Wembanyama is going to be an NBA phenomenon, but will he surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by the end of his career. It is highly likely.  I did a "per-36-minutes" comparison between the two stars, mainly because Kareem logged 43.1 MPG in his rookie campaign - while Wemby has been held to only 29.4 MPG. Kareem: 24.1 PPG - 12.1 RPG - 3.4 APG - .518 FG - .653 FT Wemby:  25.9 PPG - 12.9 RPG - 4.5 APG - .463 FG - .796 FT No blocks, steals or 3-pointers were looked at since they were not tracked in Jabbar's first year in the NBA. It should also be noted that Kareem was 22 years old at the time, while Victor started at age 20. Two factors favoring Wembanyama ultimately surpassing Jabbar on any "Best-of-All-Time" charts are his point guard skills , shared by so many European players.  and the fact he is being mentored by Gregg Popovich. His potential seems astounding. But the question remains. Can he garner six Titles and six MVP ...

Guest article by "The Sports Machine with Slim"  Can We Get a Challenge, Please? Celtics games have been kinda boring for the past couple of months , haven't they? I host a sports talk radio show every weekday and we always talk Celtics . It's the same story after almost every single game. Celtics win again. Big. The Celtics are 11-2 since the all star break. The average winning margin during those wins is 22 points per game. That's not even counting  the last game before the all star break when we beat Brooklyn by 50. Heck, even one of the losses was kinda boring. The Celts were up by 18 in the 4 th  quarter to the Cavaliers. Some of you probably turned the game off and went to bed. Who could have blamed you? The Nuggets game? Not boring. The NBA regular season matchup of the year lived up to the hype. It showed the world that we are beatable . It exposed a flaw in this Celtics team that just might be similar to last year's squad: Are we clutch? Can we win ...

 What's going on here? First the Golden State Warriors get destroyed by the Boston Celtics, 140-88 , on Sunday. Than on Tuesday, Boston loses a contest they should have won versus the Cavaliers - described by Jaylen Brown as a "mentality loss" . And on Wednesday, the Warriors decimated the surging Milwaukee Bucks, 125-90. Call it mental fatigue or physical fatigue (or both) , but the 82-game NBA regular-season schedule may just be too long . There is no logical reason for a team to get skunked badly and then a few days down the road dominate a League power. But that is what Golden State did. The NBA has become "Big Business", and that means money - lots of it. It is doubtful if the League will reduce the number of games anytime soon, but it is obvious that by the final-quarter of the regular season many players have had it. And it shows in the three games mentioned above. 

  February 8, 2024 @ 3:00 PM ET. That is the NBA trade deadline, and Yahoo!Sports has broached a potential deal that most Boston Celtics fans, including this one, never wanted to see (per Jake Fischer): Marcus Smart blocking The Greek Freak "While several clubs — including the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, sources said — have phoned Memphis about obtaining defensive stalwart Marcus Smart, the Grizzlies have shut down any overtures for the veteran guard, sources said." When Smart was sent packing to Memphis , he was not thrilled with hearing the news via social media. Marcus had his share of critics among Boston fans, but most never wanted to see " The Wolverine" return to Beantown as an opponent - ready to defend any member of The Green, regardless of size or ability. The Grizzlies Ja Morant is out for the season with an injury, and center, Steven Adams (also out for season) is heading to the Houston Rockets. This season is a lost one for Memphis , and ...

 We know Doc Rivers is a good coach, but why does he keep going joining Celtics Eastern rivals? First it was three seasons coaching the Philadelphia 76'ers - until they fired him following a Game-7 loss to Boston in the conference semi-finals.  Now it appears he has become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks following the controversial firing of Adrian Griffin . So what's going on here. It seems obvious that Milwaukee wanted a seasoned, veteran coach to get them back to Championship caliber, but does Doc look to lead an Eastern Conference team to take out the top contender for the 2023-24 Title - the Boston Celtics?  Our guess is that it is both. When Rivers chose to leave Boston for the LA Clippers, it was clear h e did not want to coach a team on the rebuild. Well, that rebuild happened nicely without him , and there was no second Championship in Clipper-Land or the City of Brotherly Love. He wants a second Title , beyond the one with Boston in 2008. Will that h...

 The NBA has sent notice to its teams that "Workload Management" doesn't appear to work  (per NBA.Com's Shaun Powell): "The NBA sent data from an exhaustive study to its teams this week that showed no link between load-managed players and a decreased risk of injury. This was the result of independent research on 10 years of NBA data where leaders in sports medicine took into account the schedule, the amount of games and the regular season load that players typically carry. For years, some league officials questioned whether players who constantly rested, even in back-to-back game situations, were in no danger of being seriously hurt. This study seems to support that notion." If this "exhaustive study" holds water , Celtics Coach, Joe Mazzulla , might try reducing minutes rather than games-played. Oh, wait a minute. He just did that in Thursday's blowout loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. Al Horford sat that one out on the second game of a back...

 I have seen a few negative things going around about Jrue Holiday's "less-than-optimum" first season in Boston. I just don't get it! Most of Jrue's critics may be looking at the reductions in his points and assists, but I quickly come back with the fact he d oes not need to score in the high-teens this season with Tatum, Brown and Porzingis around . Also, Holiday is second on the team in minutes per game, only behind Jayson Tatum. And he is second to only Derrick White in assists per game , with the duo sharing PG duties a la Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge . The 2-time All-Star is also one of the reasons the Celtics pull down more rebounds than any other NBA team. Jrue averages 6.5 RPG from the back court , and addition to effectively  guarding many of the bigger stars from opposing teams. And may I add that Boston has the best record in the League, in part because the 6'4" combo guard has altered his game for the betterment of his team . Holiday...

  Marcus Smart-to-the-Bucks? That is a probability put out there by wisportsheroics.com's Paolo Sonco . "Marcus) Smart would be a massive addition for Milwaukee. He would help fill the  defensive void  Jrue Holiday left when the Bucks shipped him off to Boston. Few defensive guards in the NBA have the same caliber as Smart. The big question, however, is whether or not the Bucks have enough assets to make this deal work. If the Grizzlies place him on the trade block (which is a big IF), then surely, they would require a massive haul in exchange for the three-time All-Defense guard." Would you like a Smart trade to the Bucks? pic.twitter.com/N2zsmmqyWu — Bucks Muse (@BucksMuse) December 10, 2023 With the Grizzlies Ja Morant due to return from a massive suspension and Smart due back from an injury, that could present a viable backcourt for Memphis. The Grizzlies could remain pat. But the prospect of Marcus heading to the Bucks, one of the Celtics major (and strongest) riva...

  Jaylen Brown had a game-high eight assists in Boston's 119-116 win over Milwaukee last night. No, that is not a misprint . But it is interesting that five of those dimes were to Kristaps Porzingis . The friendship and synergy between the two is working in the Celtics favor - big time. The two guys live in the same building and get along, both off the court and on it. That means that almost-half of the Latvian's points (total of 21 in the game) came off passes from his building-mate, Brown . In the past, Boston has too-often used energy-consuming isolations to rack up points. With the acquisition of Porzingis, that has changed, and with Jaylen looking to pass more for easy hoops, the season is filled with promise. Boston fans saw little of the forced drives by Brown in this contest, and the Celtics led the entire game. He was high man for Boston with 26 points - on 10-of-16 from the field and 3-of-5 on treys.  And he only had ONE turnover. There is a message there.

 His stats may not smash you in the face, but his value is undeniable. I am talking about 6'4", do-everything guard, Jrue Holiday. After nine games - and a 7-2 record - Holiday comes in second to Jayson Tatum in minutes at 33.7 MPG . His stats are below: 12.8 MPG - 7.3 RPG - 5.9 APG - 1.1 BPG His points are down from last season when he played for the Bucks. In 2022-23, he logged slightly more minutes (32.6 MPG) that Giannis Antetokounmpo and was second in scoring to The Greek Freak at 19.3 PPG.   "The Jruth", like Dennis Johnson before him, has sacrificed his point production for the good of his present team, the Boston Celtics. And it is working. So if floor time is at least a significant indicator of a player's value, Holiday was much-needed by The Green in their quest for Banner 18. I honestly didn't think Boston had a shot at acquiring him, but Brad Stevens found a way. He seems to have that Red Auerbach/Danny Ainge knack for petty (grand?) theft in...

 The Boston Celtics are about to add another member to their coaching staff. Charles Lee , an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks last season, will reportedly joinng Joe Mazzulla's coaching staff as lead assiustant - according to Woj. Lee played college ball at Bucknell - went undrafted in the 2006 NBA draft - and played pro ball overseas for four seasons. Charles Lee is finalizing a deal to join the Boston Celtics as the lead assistant coach, sources tell ESPN. Lee had been the associate head coach with Milwaukee and a finalist for the Toronto and Detroit head jobs. pic.twitter.com/t2WO5r2hHh — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 11, 2023  

Tom: The Celtics battle for Banner 18 starts tonight when the Heat take on the Hawks - with the winner facing Boston in the first round. Miami is favored to be the Celtics opponent in the first round of the playoffs, and The Green split the season series with the Heat this season at 2-2.   If Boston takes the Miami series, they move on to tackle (perhaps) the 76'ers and then (maybe) the Bucks. Per FanDuel , The Bucks are slated to come out of the East to face - and defeat - the Phoenix Suns. The odds and projected outcomes are shown below. That's what we see on paper, but Joe Mazzulla and his guys don't agree with that potential outcome . In the possible Eastern Conference clashes, the Celtics will have problems with Miami but should prevail. Likewise with Philly. Milwaukee? The Bucks are favored by many to take the whole package this year, so expect a battle if the two powers meet. Boston's biggest challenge, if they make the Finals, would be the Phoenix Suns . They ...